1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to motorized track-driven vehicles. More particularly, the invention relates to a skid plate and a bumper portion of a snowmobile.
2. Related Art
Most snowmobiles implement a bumper on the front end of the vehicle to prevent damage to the vehicle if it engages other objects and to provide additional structure that can be used to manually move the snowmobile. Most snowmobiles also implement a skid plate of some kind to a bottom side of the vehicle to prevent damage to otherwise exposed components that may contact objects over which the snowmobile is passing. Typically, the skid plate and bumper are separately secured to a frame of the snowmobile. It is common in some instances to secure the skid plate to the front bumper in addition to securing the skid plate to the vehicle frame.
A disadvantage of known skid plates and bumpers that are secured to a vehicle frame relates to their assembly. For example, if the skid plate and bumper are separately secured to the vehicle frame, there are multiple members to handle and secure to the frame, which may complicate the assembly process. In configurations where the skid plate and bumper are secured together prior to being mounted to the vehicle frame, the assembly is further complicated by having to align several parts together for proper mounting to the vehicle frame, and adding an additional step to the assembly process. Another disadvantage of securing separate skid plate and bumper members together in addition to securing the combined members to the vehicle is that the bond between the members may fail. A skid plate and bumper for mounting to a vehicle that addresses these and other disadvantages of known skid plates, bumpers and their combinations would be an important advance in the art.